"" Writer's Wanderings: 18 Days Through Europe in an Audi - Salzburg, Germany

Thursday, October 28, 2010

18 Days Through Europe in an Audi - Salzburg, Germany

[Summer, 2004]

Our morning exploration of Salzburg on Saturday included an open market with all sorts of food products and fresh produce. We wound our way through it to the funicular that would take us to the fortress of Hohensalzburg. Once there, to our surprise we found ourselves in the middle of a Medieval Festival. Costumed performers and merchants were found throughout the courtyards of the fortress.

The castle tour was very interesting providing a look at 11th century decor (including a private commode in the bedroom). Wooden walls were elaborately painted and touched with gold. At one time, the bare walls were adorned with red velvet. An old ceramic oven provided heat in one room. The views of Salzburg are wonderful. It is easy to pick out the cathedral and St. Peters church. What a view the prince-bishop must have had of his subjects below.

Returning to old city, we explored the cathedral and St. Peters arriving just in time for a wedding. We sat in a slight drizzle and waited for the bride to arrive. Our patience paid off as a car decorated with fresh flowers, mostly red roses, arrived and a lovely bride emerged to be pampered by mom and dad who straightened the roses on the neckline of her dress and led her into the church.

Polly had missed the Sound of Music tour on her last visit so we walked to the Mirabell Palace gardens where, on the steps, Julie Andrews taught the children Do-Re-Mi. We had already walked through the cemetery by St. Peters where the inspiration for the set was found. The movie copied the crypts almost exactly.

The convent sits in the side of the hill overlooking the area. Apparently when they were filming the movie, some of the actors wouldn't abide by the rules set up by the nuns so they were banned from filming the wedding in the chapel there. The producer used a church in a little town of Mondsee. I was disappointed we couldn't show Polly the church but we were running our of time.

Earlier, we had tried to get into the Mozart dinner concert and found it was fully booked. We opted for a Sound of Music dinner concert which was okay but not the elegant evening the Mozart dinner would have produced. The singers were good and the evening enjoyable.

Salzburg is always a treat to visit and there is never enough time to do all that you would like. With the thought that we would return again, we left to travel unknown territory and face the perils of the road to Venice.

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